Ladies, please help me with a puzzle I’m having.  This summer, I have three weddings to go to, and two of them are in the same circle of friends.  A couple of years ago, I bought two Laundry by Shelli Segal dresses that have been my go-to frocks for formal/semi-formal occasions.  They are both A-line, knee-length, halter dresses with a deep v-neck, wide satin trim at the waist and tie, and have a matching color overlay that kind of gives the top a bit of a blouson feel into the waist.  (I wish I could find a pic online, but as I got these a few years ago, they’re not featured anywhere anymore).  One is chocolate brown, the other is a bright, happy teal.  I still love the way they look on me and I love wearing them, but how to make them special for not only the occasion, but also for friends who’ve already seen them before, while still keeping them modern and seasonable?  In the past, I’ve worn them both with bronze strappy heels, maybe silver earrings, and carried a bronze clutch, but I’m getting a little sick of that formula, and I’m stuck on the best way to add some oomph to these dresses, which are quite classic and should be easy to accessorize.  Would a colored heel do it?  Is there possibly a color that could work with both dresses?  Jewlery?  Can I wear a necklace or a couple necklaces with a halter top like that? 

And that is the challenge I put before you, fashionistas ... help me re-work these great dresses, hopefully for very cheap, so I can put more into the wedding gifts for my friends and have a great time!

An easy update, if you happen to be handy with a sewing machine (or if you have a drycleaner or tailor you trust--which you should!) would be to switch out the tie at the neck and the waistband. So instead of the tie in the same color, try a contrasting color or even a print in the same color family--say a strong black belt on the teal dress and an earth-toned paisley on the brown dress. Wear black shoes with the teal dress and pick a color from the print for your shoe with the brown dress, and it’ll make the dresses look both different from each other and different from how you wore them before. If you have evening weddings, experiment with contrasting color wraps and shawls to warm you up and change your look, or for daytime, really play with your accessories--play up the teal color with white accessories for a Mediterranean chic, and go with flat sandals, loose hair, and chunky jewelry for an earth-mother vibe in the brown dress.

You’re smart to start thinking about this well in advance--breaking out of a styling rut can be hard to do at the last minute, but with some time to prepare you should be able to think of some fabulous new outfits for your fabulous bargain dresses!

First of all, I agree that it’s a good idea to consider this ahead of time. That way, you’re not at the mercy of selections and prices or anything like that.

Second, with halter ties, necklaces may be a bit too much, so go with dramatic earrings. Brown is a neutral, so any color earrings would go beautifully with it. Teal is a bit tougher, but it still goes with a lot, so just try things on. The good thing is that with your earrings, you’ll probably prefer to go with cheaper costume pieces that can give you a dramatic look without leaving you in fear of loosing them.

Just one more idea. I hope this helps.